


Friends with Benefits

by Bicoco



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Feels, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:15:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25668811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bicoco/pseuds/Bicoco
Summary: In the Pilot, Magnum and Higgins seem to hate each other, or do they?
Relationships: Juliet Higgins & Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV, Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 84
Kudos: 188





	1. Magnum's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other day, I was watching the Pilot and I wondered what could be different if Magnum and Higgins had a different relationship than on the show. This is what came to mind.
> 
> As usual, english is not my first language so I apologize in advance for the mistakes.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly :(

Magnum is laughing at what his friends just said as he presses his bag of frozen peas to his right eye. He’s enjoying a low-key evening with his buddies, drinking beers and eating sandwiches, when majordomo Juliet Higgins storms in, accompanied by her two Hellhounds.

She berates him about the new dog collars he has found for the Dobermans in order to help with their aggression issues, especially towards him. Their eyes meet and narrow, neither willing to be the one to look down.

Rick tries to catch Juliet’s attention, offering her a sandwich, and it inexplicably annoys the PI to no end which, judging by the smirk on her face, catches the young woman’s attention.

« She’ll take it to go. », he tells his friend, willing to prevent any affinity to develop between her and Rick.

She tilts her head as she stares down at him, perfectly aware of what he was attempting to do.

“There’s someone called Emily for you at the front gate.”, she informs him to change the subject.

“You let her in?”, he asks her.

“It is not my job to receive the _endless_ stream of young women who, for reasons passing comprehension, choose to spend their time with you.”

“She’s a client.”, he explains.

“You can forgive me for assuming otherwise.”, she tells him and he notices the pissed off gleam in her eyes. “Lovely seeing you gents.”, she says to his friends in a light, nice tone.

And she’s off, followed by her two canine terrors.

The guys also take their leave when he goes to meet his client. He feels for the young woman, it’s not her fault she’s married to an unfaithful jackass. She kisses him on the cheek to thank him before retreating to her car.

He stops by the main house on his way back, thinking about broken hearts, and goes straight to Higgins’ room where he sees her exit her bathroom in just a black silk nightgown.

He raises an eyebrow. “Were you expecting someone?”

The young woman rubs her hands together before bending over, finishing to lather body lotion on her legs.

“Seeing how pissed you were when Rick slightly flirted with me, I knew you would pay me a visit. Guess I was right.”, she advances smugly when she straightens.

He growls as he reminisces the suave tone his friend has used on her and sees that he has no right to be jealous.

That’s not how their deal work.

However, he knows what he _can_ do as he wraps one arm around her waist and pulls her pliant body against his.

“How was your ‘client’?”, she asks.

He’s surprised by that question.

“Uh, good. Why?”

“No reason.”, she states lightly as she wipes his cheek with the pad of her thumb before showing him the lipstick she just smeared on her finger.

He smiles innocently, not that he has anything to be guilty about, and she chuckles.

“You’re too easy.”

She guides him towards the foot of the bed and pushes slightly. He drops down on the mattress and she straddles him. He lifts up the nightgown to pull it over her head and groans when he notices she isn’t wearing anything underneath.

“Being predictable has its perks.”, he chuckles before taking possession of her lips.

He slips one hand behind her head, the other around her waist in order to pull her whole body to his. His tongue makes its way inside her mouth and engages in a duel with its counterpart. She tastes of mint toothpaste and her – slightly sweet - though he wonders how it can be, seeing as she just brushed her teeth. She sighs when he gently bites her lower lip on his retreat.

“Yes, but now you’re clearly overdressed.”, she says once they broke apart.

She pushes his denim shirt from his shoulders and his grey t-shirt follows shortly after. He helps her come down his lap and stands up to shuck his black shorts off.

“Still going commando, Thomas?”, she quips.

He sits back down on the mattress and kicks off the fabric at his feet and his flip flops. She climbs back on his thighs, wrapping her arms around his shoulders for purchase, and attaches her lips to the side of his neck.

“It’s more practical that way.”, he answers.

He closes his eyes, enjoying the way she licks her way up to his ear and bites his earlobe. His hands are not idle as they course the length of her back, her ass then her thighs. He loves the feel of her skin, so soft, so warm, while each stroke of his fingers releases whiffs of her delicious flowery scent that Thomas can’t get enough of.

He’s distracted from his exploration when she grinds her hips into his lap and rubs against his erection. He moans, tempted to just throw her on the bed and have his way with her but she seems intend on setting a rhythm, enjoying the friction between his hard shaft and her wet clit. He lies back in the middle of the mattress, bringing her down with him so she can lengthen her moves and gain more pleasure. She sloppily fuses their lips together, and pants against him, making them share the same air. He grips her ass to guide her movements, increasing the pressure as well as the pace and soon she’s moaning into his mouth when her climax takes over her body.

He doesn’t give her time to recover and thrusts up to slide swiftly inside of her. He knows she usually comes faster the second time when he stimulates her still sensitive walls from her first orgasm.

« Oh God, Thomas! », she shouts hoarsely.

He finds it funny that they’re only ‘Thomas’ and ‘Juliet’ during sex while they’re always ‘Magnum’ and ‘Higgins’ outside the bedroom.

She slides her legs alongside his, lining up their bodies so when she glides up and down his member their whole bodies rub together in a very intimate embrace. Magnum is surprised she chose this position because she usually avoids the ones with too much eye contact.

He can’t complain though because having a sweaty Higgins rubbing every inch of her against him is not a lousy way to spend one’s evening. He pushes on his heels to counterbalance her thrusts and she buries her head into his neck, biting the sensitive skin, hard. He groans in pain and pulls on her hair to dislodge her face from him.

She throws him a dark glare, not pleased at being manhandled, so he rolls them over and pushes her arms above her head, maintaining them with his hands.

« That’s what you get for being naughty, Juliet. », he growls against her lips.

He resumes his thrusts, faster, deeper and more punishing than before but she seems to enjoy the change judging from the desperate mewls coming out of her mouth.

« Oh, yes! Harder! », she instructs breathlessly.

Thomas feels beads of sweat rolling down his skin, his own release nearing but he wants her to come another time before he does so he lets go of one of her arm to press his thumb to her clit while he pushes into her more forcefully.

Her inner walls flutter around him so he knows he can let go of his last shreds of control. They come at the same time, shouting each other’s name before he collapses on top of her.

After a few minutes, when they’re able to breathe normally, he props himself on his forearms to see her face.

« Do you really not see why women choose to spend their time with me?”, he asks, pleased with himself.

She pushes him off of her to straighten up and look for her nightgown.

« Cockiness doesn’t suit you, Magnum. », she gently scolds him while she puts on the garment without looking at him.

With the use of his surname, Magnum knows he’s being dismissed for the night.

He dresses while she goes to use the bathroom and is gone before she emerges again. He knows she won’t mind since she’s the one with all the rules.

A few months back, while Magnum was minding his own business, she unexpectedly tackled him to the ground saying she had an itch to scratch and, since he was here, he would just do.

‘Juliet Higgins, the Queen of compliments!’, he had sarcastically said before she forced him to shut up with her lips on his. They had sex on the floor that day and since then, they have occasionally been taking care of each other’s urges.

He jokes that they are friends with benefits but she reminds him constantly they are not friends.

The only rules are that no one gets attached, they are not exclusive therefore they are allowed to see other people and they never sleep together afterwards. Of course, Higgins, being Higgins, said that she reserved the right to add to the list if she saw fit.

Amazingly, this little arrangement has been working quite well for them. It helps relieve the frustrating annoyance they sometimes feel towards the other and well, the sex is really good. She’s surprisingly adventurous and her athletic body is perfectly suited for all the crazy positions they’re willing to try.

Thomas knows that she thinks he is having one-night stands with other women but he actually isn’t. He sometimes brings women to the guesthouse for drinks but he never sleeps with them. It suits him that she thinks he’s sleeping around. At least, there is no misplaced expectation from either of them when they’re claiming to be in for the sex while they’re actually both being exclusive with each other.

Besides, he’s just not the kind of guy who likes to juggle several sex partners. And since he knows she doesn’t sleep with anyone either, that kind of evens the playing field.

He takes a shower before going to bed and falls asleep with the taste of her lingering on his tongue.

TBC


	2. Higgins' POV

The next day, Higgins is enjoying her Cobra pose, reveling in the way her torso and back muscles stretch, when she hears Magnum yell her name, followed by Zeus and Apollo’s barks. She smiles, knowing she has a 15-minute window before he’s done with his morning shower. She finishes her yoga session before she creeps in the guesthouse.

She lays on his bed on her side with her head supported by her hand as she waits for him to finish. When he does, he emerges from the bathroom, dripping wet, with only a towel around his hips. Her mouth waters at the sight.

He is on his way to check his phone and put on his watch and ring when he sees her. He smirks and she wants to eat him, her mind literally demanding she lick all of his glistening caramel skin.

“Twice in less than 12 hours? Did I leave you unsatisfied last night?”, he taunts her as he changes direction to join her at the foot of his bed.

Her whole body flushes at the thought of their tryst from the night before. He definitely did _not_ leave her frustrated. She rises on her knees to wrap her arms around his wet shoulders.

“Of course not, you never leave me unsatisfied, that’s why you’re the perfect candidate for our little deal. It’s just that I know your morning routine and I wanted to catch you fresh out of the shower.”

She buries her nose into his neck and hums.

“You smell so good.”, she tells him without thinking.

“As opposed to when I’m not fresh out of the shower and I stink?”, he jokes.

She chuckles against his skin and disengages herself to look at him. She addresses him a wide grin that he returns.

“You always smell good, like the ocean, the Ferrari leather and spices I can’t recognize.”, she tells him while she palms his cheek.

Their following kiss is far more tender than she intends to, leaving her with a weird feeling at the bottom of her stomach that has nothing to do with arousal. She decides to distract her mind from these disturbing thoughts and she pulls on his towel until it falls on the ground.

She sits on the bed, her feet on the floor, in front of him and grabs his manhood before wrapping her lips slowly around him. She hears the deep groan he utters above her and accompanies the movements of her mouth with her fingers at the base of his shaft. She takes him in as far as she can and sucks lightly as her lips leave his member. She feels his fingers trail through her hair, holding her head to him without pushing her. A flood of wetness rushes out of her and drenches her panties; she can’t wait to have him between her legs.

She loves the feeling running through her when she gives him a blowjob: an empowerment at turning him into a puddle of want for her. She digs her nails into one of his butt cheek and he suddenly pushes her away from him. She directs questioning eyes towards him; he is flushed, breathless and fully hard which makes her so very proud of herself.

“I think that’s enough of that.”, he pants. “Take off your clothes.”

She rises back on her knees on the bed and peels off her sports bra. He pushes her gently so she falls backwards on the soft mattress before grabbing both her leggings and panties at the waistband to pull them down her legs. Once she’s finally naked, he crawls up her body, trailing kisses and nips on her skin, here and there.

“How do you want it?”, he asks her when he reaches her eyes and she blinks when a cold droplet from his wet hair falls on her nose.

“Sorry.”, he says as he pushes the locks back on his head, sprinkling her with even more drops.

“Thomas!”, she berates but she’s laughing at the same time.

He chuckles as he licks all the wet spots on her face.

“So?”, he reminds her of his previous question and Juliet is still astonished that he lets her choose the pace of their lovemaking practically every time.

Ever since they started their ‘arrangement’, she’s almost always the one to come to him and not the other way around. He never turns her away so she knows it’s not out of disinterest. Now that she’s more familiar with him, she sees it’s just his way of leaving her in control of the situation, knowing it’s more important for her than for him.

Last night had been an exception and she guesses he had been more affected by Rick’s light pass at her than he claims to, something she’s not willing to think it through at the moment.

“Surprise me.”, she breathes against his lips after pulling him down to her.

Just because she can choose doesn’t mean she has to disregard his own desires.

He answers her with a wide grin followed by a long, wet kiss.

“Ok, then turn around.”, he instructs and braces himself on his arms to leave her the space to do so.

When she’s flat on her stomach he covers her body again, nestling her butt against his pelvis. Her heart rate quickens because she loves this position and he knows it. He nudges her legs apart with his knee, takes his erection in his hand to guide it to her center. He rubs his head against her wet folds, coating it with her fluids and she tilts her ass up into his lower stomach with a groan, wanting one thing and one thing only: for him to be inside of her.

He grants her wish as he pushes slowly into her until he’s fully sheathed inside her body. She lets out an unrestrained sob at the feel of him finally filling her. He stretches out more comfortably above her, aligning his torso with her back and threads his fingers through hers above her head.

Him pressing her into the mattress with his whole weight is probably her favorite part of this position, though the angle of penetration is not bad either. He brushes his lips to the back of her neck so he’s ideally placed to groan his appreciation into her ear.

He starts with slow, long, straightforward thrusts to build a rhythm and Higgins drops her forehead to their folded arms, reveling in the perfect way they fit together. He moans her name as he increases his pace slightly, adding a little twist of his hips at the end of each thrusts.

“Oh, God!”, she chokes as she tries to counterbalance his movements but she is restricted by his weight and the force he uses to drive into her again and again.

So she surrenders total control of her body to him as she slumps against the sheets and lets him carry her to the finish line, trusting him to bring her as much pleasure as possible.

She is not disappointed when he spreads his knees slightly to push into her from above and bits her shoulder, his desperate grunts bringing her higher and higher until she snaps and screams his name when her release floods her like a tidal wave.

He joins her mere seconds later in a litany of curses roared directly into her ear.

He rolls off of her immediately and struggles to catch his breath, not that she’s faring any better. She basks in the euphoria brought on by an amazingly powerful orgasm, thinking a yoga session followed by an energetic roll in the sheet with Magnum is definitely the best way to start her day.

“I need another shower.”, he chuckles after a few minutes of silence before he gets up and walks in the direction of the bathroom.

Juliet is tempted to join him because she clearly needs to wash off all the sweat and mixed fluids from her body but she’s worried it will feel too intimate. The more they spend time together, the blurrier the lines are getting and she needs to protect her heart, that was why she insisted on the rules in the first place.

Therefore, she quickly throws her clothes back on, grimacing when she slips into her panties and leaves for the main house.

XXXXXX

The next time they see each other, they argue. He seems stressed out and wants to take another Ferrari from Robin’s while she is aggravated because he smashed the first one he already borrowed.

“I don’t have time for this, Higgins! Nuzo’s in trouble!”, he yells at her.

“What happened?”, she asked in a concerned tone.

“He got kidnapped and I got there too late!”

He doesn’t tell her but he feels guilty that his friend got grabbed from his home while he was fooling around with her. He should have been there for him. But she can read between the lines.

“It’s not your fault, Thomas. You couldn’t have known he was in trouble.”, she reassures him.

He’s not willing to discuss this with her right now and changes the subject.

“Look I’m happy to figure out some way to pay for the damage to the Ferrari, but right now, the most important thing is finding my friend.”

She nods and he leaves with Robin’s favorite Ferrari. She has a bad feeling about all of this and it’s not just about the car. She watches him drive off with her arms crossed, Zeus and Apollo by her side.

Unfortunately, they find Nuzo dead and Higgins can’t think of anything she can do to make it better for Magnum so, in the meantime, she offers shelter to his friend’s wife and son.

When she learns he almost got married in the past, her heart lurches in her chest and a sensation akin to jealousy spreads in her belly which is strange because A, it’s supposed to be in the past and B, she doesn’t have feeling for Thomas Magnum.

He seems thankful for her help, later on the phone but she feels she’s not doing enough therefore she offers her assistance in whatever he’s currently doing to catch the people who killed Nuzo. She’s glad he trusts her enough to send her on a mission.

“Thank you, Juliet.”, he whispers at the end of their conversation and her heart breaks just a little at his dejected tone.

“You’re welcome, Thomas.”

She hopes he can read between the lines and understand that her actions mean that she’s there for him if he needs her. Maybe he had been right, maybe they had been friends all along. With benefits.

TBC


	3. Magnum's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is a little bit sketchy because it takes a lot of scenes from the actual episode (that I modified of course ) so I hope you won't mind the small time jumps from one scene to another.

Magnum takes a hefty bite of the sweet treat he brought Noelani as a bribe, coating his lips with sugar, when his phone starts to bark. Recognizing Higgins’ custom ringtone, the P.I smiles. He had been surprised she offered to help with his investigation, especially since he was doing it behind HPD’s back.

He answers and immediately asks her if she’s on her way to Nuzo’s office when she interrupts to inform him she’s been shot. His blood runs cold and, while his brain is telling him that since she’s calling him she is most definitely conscious, he can’t help but worry about her.

He’s also feeling guilty because she was there to do him a favor and if it weren’t for him, she would be alright. He makes her promise to get checked out and call him back immediately when he sees Dr. Cunha coming back in his line of vision. The M.E tells him his hunch had been right: Nuzo had been tortured before he was killed.

The information Noelani gave him circle in his mind the whole ride to the hospital. There’s no way he will let Higgins get a ride home from the hospital with an Uber. Besides he wants to see for himself that she is alright.

When he gets to the emergency room he sees her sitting on an examination table with her left arm in a sling. He rushes to be near her, even though he can tell she’s okay.

”Higgy!”, he exclaims when he’s close enough

He notices her shoulders slump when she sees him and he doesn’t know if it’s in relief or discontent.

« Magnum, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the M.E office. », she asks him but there’s no heat in her words so it must have been relief which comforts Thomas in his decision to come to her.

« I came as soon as I was done there. I didn’t want you to worry about how to get home so I’m here to pick you up. How are you feeling? »

She attempts to shrug but winces when the move pulls on her injured arm. It takes all his willpower to give her space and not wrap his arms around her but she might kill him if he attempts any PDA in public.

« I’m just waiting for the painkillers to kick in. »

« Are you allowed to leave? »

« Yes, I just need to pick up the prescription for the meds. »

« Okay, we’ll do that and go home. »

He helps her hop down the examination table and escorts her to the Ferrari parked on a loading zone. She throws him a disapproving look.

« What? I was really worried about you and in a hurry, okay? », he says to justify himself.

She tries to hide the smile creeping on her face at his words but Magnum catches it. Something warm settles in his stomach knowing his presence makes her feel better.

XXXXXX

That night, when he enters his room, he finds her sitting on his bed, her back against the headboard with her laptop on her thighs.

“I’m not really in the mood for sex tonight, Higgy.”, he sighs tiredly as he sits on the edge of his bed.

“I’m not either.”, she adds, still typing away with only one hand. “I just thought you could use some comp….”

She sees his beaten face and gasps.

“Are you okay?”, she cries out. “What happened?”

He sighs, he wants to run his hand down his face but he knows it will hurt like hell so he abstains.

“The thugs responsible for your bullet wound came for me and mistook me for their punching bag. They don’t want me to keep on investigating.”

She throws the computer on the bed before crawling next to him as fast as she can with her arm in a sling. She makes him turn his head towards her to assess his injuries.

“You’re gonna need a bigger bag of frozen peas.”, she deadpans, trying to lift his spirits.

He smiles to humor her; even though he’s glad she came to him tonight he can’t help feeling a bit down tonight. Maybe he’s finally coming to terms with the fact that he will never see his friend again, that his wife was a widow and his son fatherless.

“I’ll be fine.”, he tries to reassure her. 

She nods but he can tell she doesn’t believe him so he does what he knows will make them both feel better: he tilts her chin up and brushes his lips softly against hers. She deepens the kiss with a swift move of her tongue through his open mouth and he finds solace in her warm embrace.

He sees that being here and making him feel better bring her out of her comfort zone, especially since she did her best to keep him at arm’s length until now. She made the effort to push her doubts aside for him. Tonight, he’s grateful for it. For her.

He releases her lips slowly but keeps his forehead against hers.

“You’re staying tonight?”, he whispers, afraid to spook her if he talks too loudly.

“Do you want me to?”, she asks him in the same tone he used.

Their eyes lock when he backs away slightly.

“Yes.”, he answers earnestly.

“Okay.”, she breathes.

He smiles to show her his gratitude before he gets up and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed. In the meantime, she closes her laptop and drops it on the armchair near the French doors.

She’s a bit hindered by her sling so he goes to assist her when he comes back in the bedroom wearing only his boxers. He helps her strip down to a tank top and her panties. She decided to forego her bra, thinking it would be easier with her incapacitated arm.

They slide under the sheet to settle, each on their respective pillow, nervous about what to say or do which is quite absurd seeing how physically intimate they have been before.

However, the need to be near her is stronger and Magnum closes the distance between their bodies, turning on his side towards her before wrapping an arm around her waist. She lifts her valid arm so he can lay his head on her shoulder, snuggled against her good side.

He lets out the breath he was holding, fearing she would bolt at the first contact between them.

Suddenly, he feels compelled to tell her about how he met Nuzo, Afghanistan, the POW and after he does he can’t hold back the tears, devastated with the loss of one of his best friends. She squeezes him closer to her while whispering soft reassuring words against his hair and lets him cry against her until he falls asleep.

And for the first time ever, they sleep in the same bed through the night.

The next morning, when he wakes up, she’s gone and if it wasn’t for the lingering scent of hers on the pillowcase, he would have thought he had dreamt it all. However, his eyes burn and his head aches from all the the crying he did so it must have been real.

Later, when he comes to her for a favor, he finds her sitting on the kitchen counter in the middle of dressing up her wound and he has a sudden flashback of her, naked in this very same location just a week ago.

He shakes the inappropriate image off his mind as she pretends to be offended by his presence. He steps in to help her, ignoring her slight recoil when he takes over her and secures her bandage on her arm. He grabs her thighs and spread them gently so he can place himself between them.

He starts buttoning her shirt, knowing she won’t be able to do it one-handed.

« It’s funny, last week I was doing the exact opposite. », he jokes to break the ice.

She doesn’t reply but she’s not pushing him away either so Magnum takes that as a win. He’s done with her shirt but he doesn’t move away. Instead he braces his hands on each side of her hips.

« I’m sorry you got shot. I shouldn’t have let you get involved. », he says softly.

She relaxes immediately and Thomas understands she has been waiting for his apology.

« I’m not blaming you Magnum. But I accept your apology. », she tells him as she drops her gaze between their bodies. « Thanks for the shirt. »

« Thank you for last night. », he acknowledges.

She lifts her eyes to meet his.

“Anytime, Thomas.”

He noticed they both used their first names several times outside the bedroom in the last couple of days and wonders if the lines between them are blurring. Whatever the answer is, he decides not to fight the urge to seal his lips to hers. He keeps it chaste, not willing to arouse but to soothe his tortured soul like only being close to Juliet, surrounded by her scent, could do.

If he wasn’t so distracted by his will to find Nuzo’s killer, he would take some time to think about what those feelings inside of him meant for their deal.

Her right hand cups his cheek and she attempts to deepen the kiss but Magnum breaks apart from her lips. He still has a favor to ask her.

“MI6?”, she scoffs once he does and she pushes him off her to slide down the kitchen counter.

“Come on, Higgy. Don’t underestimate my investigating skills. I know you’re former British Intelligence.”

After a bit of cajoling she admits he’s right and agrees to help him.

XXXXXX

As he listens to her directives through the phone, he can’t help thinking how great they would work together if they were partners. Professional partners. He already knows how compatible they are in other, more intimate settings.

“Please, Magnum, bring the car back in one piece.”, she begs him.

“I think you mean me.”, he chuckles because he’s quite sure she’s scared for him.

“Yes.”, she breathes. “But also the car.”

He smiles. Yeah, she’s worried about him which means she cares and that’s why she offered to assist him in the first place.

XXXXXX

In the end, they manage to stop the gold thieves in a desperately reckless stunt, however, Robin1 suffers the consequences as it falls down a cliff.

Higgins will bite his head off as soon as he comes home.

To his surprise though, she welcomes him with a tight hug but doesn’t dare for more because Rick and TC are not far behind him. He whispers a ‘thank you’ to her ear before unwillingly backing away from her one-armed embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ends the No Smut Week.
> 
> Rest assured, the Smut will be back next week. And maybe there will be a surprise :D
> 
> Next chapter will be the last for this fic.


	4. Magnum's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, the last chapter of this fic. Thanks for all the kudos and reviews!
> 
> Bonus points for those who will find the Castle reference ;)

Later that night, Magnum is in bed, lying on his back and almost asleep when he hears someone slip into his room. He recognizes Higgins’ gait by ear so he keeps his eyes closed, comforted by the fact there is no threat.

He has to admit he’s rather surprised she’s here. For all the times she came to him for sex, she has never done it while she thought he was asleep. The dynamic between them has truly shifted in the last few days. He doesn’t move and decides to let events unfold.

The moon is absent from the sky tonight therefore there’s not the slightest light to see what she is up to, though he hears the rustle of clothes so he guesses she’s undressing. He smiles to himself when she mutters a curse, probably frustrated with her injured arm.

A few minutes later he feels the sheet being lifted and the mattress dipping as she slides next to him. He pretends to sleep, curious about the way she’s going to rouse him.

But she doesn’t, she just turns on her good side and huddles up against him, her back to his side, ready to fall asleep with his arm as her pillow. Magnum rolls on his side so he can spoon her and hisses at the feel of her totally naked body against him.

« You’re naked. », he growls into her neck.

« So are you. », she states as she wriggles her butt against his crotch, making him groan.

« Yeah, well I was sleeping. », he advances, slightly breathless.

« You were not sleeping, Thomas. », she chuckles humorlessly. « I could tell from your too short breaths. »

He squeezes her tighter against him with his arm around her waist and shakes his head.

« And you wonder how I found out you were a spy? You’re too observant for your own good. »

He brushes light kisses across her shoulder, neck and cheek.

“Are you okay?”, he asks her, slightly concerned by her silence.

“I am now.”, she answers quietly.

« What is it? »

She doesn’t respond for a long time and Thomas almost believes she won’t answer when she speaks again.

« Today, and for the first time in three years, I was afraid for someone else’s life. And I really didn’t like the feeling. »

He doesn’t know quite how to respond to that. It sounds like there’s some subtext and he’s missing some key elements however he can help her get rid of her distress.

« What do you need? Reassurance, distraction, sleep? », he asks her, willing to do anything to make her feel better.

« Probably all three. », she chuckles darkly.

He rolls her on her back, mindful of her injury, before climbing on top of her. She spreads her legs to allow him between them.

« Since we’re both awake, maybe we can find something to occupy ourselves. », he suggests before diving for her lips.

She responds to his kiss but controls the slow and leisurely pace, like she wants to savor and explore his whole mouth. When they break apart, she whispers in his ear.

« Make love to me, Thomas. »

His heart starts racing in his chest. Something is definitely different. _She_ is different: softer, raw, like she finally dropped down the walls that were erected all around her. He kisses her deeply one more time in an attempt to show her he registered the change in their relationship and that he’s here to catch her if she’s willing to meet him halfway.

His lips glide across her cheek towards her neck where he runs his front teeth down to her shoulder. She shivers and threads her fingers into his hair at the back of his head. He continues his journey by mapping her collarbone with his lips and tongue before reaching the soft swell of her breasts. He worships one, then the other with his mouth, titillating the nipples with his teeth.

Her breathless moans grow louder until she growls in dissatisfaction when he abandons her chest to trail light nips across her stomach. His hands stroke her sides while he dips the tip of his tongue into her navel. She squirms under his ticklish touch and pushes on her heels to chase after the slightest contact against her sensitive center.

He drops his forehead to her lower belly, pressing his nose into her neatly trimmed curls and inhaling the sweet scent of her arousal. He’s awed at how ready she always is for him.

“For me.”, he growls against her and she whimpers at his sudden possessiveness.

“Yes, only for you.”, she breathes as she arches her back and pushes his head towards her wetness.

He applies his lips to her folds and sucks her clit into his mouth making her hips fly upwards and her neck arch. He keeps a hand on her stomach to restrain her movements against his mouth as he continues to pleasure her. She pants his first name, again and again, chanting it towards the ceiling as he alternates between thrusting his tongue into her and dragging it back to her clit to apply the pressure she’s expecting. He doesn’t stay long enough in either location to allow her orgasm to build and soon she’s getting restless.

“Please, Thomas.”, she begs him and he would lie if he said he didn’t like having this kind of power over her.

He doesn’t make her wait any longer before pushing his tongue firmly against her bundle of nerves and sliding his index finger into her core. He keeps a steady rhythm and lets himself be guided by the sounds coming out of her lips. In less than two minutes he has her quivering beneath him when her climax washes over her body.

While she recovers, Magnum lays his cheek on her hipbone and grazes lazy swirls with the tips of his fingers on her thigh, side and belly. If he didn’t have a raging hard-on right now, he would gladly fall asleep in this very same location, surrounded by her divine scent, especially when her nails draw mesmerizing patterns across his scalp. He hums and presses a kiss on her flat stomach next to her navel.

He deplores the loss of her hand in his hair when she glides her fingers down his neck to knead his shoulder.

She’s starting to wonder about his stillness when she asks him: “You still with me?”.

He answers her with a grunt but a few seconds later he pushes himself on his hands to crawl back her body until their hips are aligned. This time he doesn’t ask her what position she’d favor, it’s pretty clear they’ll keep it traditional tonight.

The room is still plunged into darkness but they manage to distinguish each other now that their eyes are accustomed to the pitch black.

“Look at me, Juliet.”, he tells her and when her eyes lock with his, he breaches her slowly with his erection.

She struggles to keep her eyes open until he’s fully inside of her but Thomas sees she’s doing her best to maintain their visual connection and he’s so proud of her and all the efforts she’s making to let him in.

He withdraws slightly from her before driving back slowly into her tight heat making them moan in unison.

“You feel heavenly around me, a perfect fit.”, he pants directly against her lips.

She wraps her legs around his waist to bring him even closer so Magnum has to keep his thrusts short which suit them because they’re not chasing their release just yet, merely enjoying this new intimacy between them.

That’s why tonight is different. They are making love. They are expressing feelings they can’t put into words yet.

They continue to move slowly against each other, their foreheads pressed together as they share the same air. His skin is tingling and his heart is beating erratically, which is not due to the physical activity he is currently engaged in. He knows that’s a reaction of being intimate with someone he has romantic feelings for. Surprisingly, this piece of information exhilarates him more than it scares him.

He joins his lips to hers as he speeds up his moves, suddenly desperate to achieve orgasm and bring her the same amount of pleasure. She grunts at the change of pace, adding her own gyrations of her hips to his quick and sharp thrusts.

The moment he senses the telltale signs of her climax - sharp intake of breath, walls fluttering and contracting around him, nails digging into his skin – he lets go on his self-restraint and they come together, their cries of pleasure swallowed by each other’s mouth.

He doesn’t stay on her, worried about her wound and how their lovemaking has taken a toll on her arm. Once he’s lying on his back he draws her to his side and she immediately snuggles against him.

They both drift off, exhausted by the last few days.

XXXXXX

He’s slipping on the jacket of his white dress uniform when he sees her coming into his room, trying to hold her open dress to her body with her valid arm and carrying her sling in her other hand.

“You walked all the way from the main house with your dress open?’, he asks, amused.

She’s in a less cheery mood.

“I’m sick and tired of this thing.”, she grumbles as she shows him her sling.

He wraps his arms around her, knowing he can’t tell her anything that would make her feel better, she’s still going to have to put it on.

“Would you help me, please?”, she asks, turning around in his embrace to present him her back.

He slowly pulls up her zipper until her dress is securely attached.

« I have the feeling I’m being tricked here. I’m spending more time dressing you up than taking clothes off of you.”

“What are you talking about? You got me naked last night as I recall.”, she tells him as she turns around to face him.

« You got naked on your own, actually. », he corrects her.

“Why does it matter? The important thing is that I ended up naked, right?”, she questions as she slides her hand to the back of his neck to draw him closer.

« True. », he concurs and seals their lips in a tender kiss.

When he woke up this morning he almost expected her to be gone. He was glad to be proven wrong when he felt her back pressed to his front. They had shifted in their sleep but stayed close to one another. He opened his eyes and, when he saw the creamy skin of her neck at his disposal, he couldn’t resist brushing his lips against it.

She stirred and hummed when his kisses woke her and they both couldn’t fight the need to be joined again as Magnum tilted her hips to slide into her heat from behind. They undulated against each other for the laziest and softest morning sex they had ever had.

So who cares who gets who naked as long as he has her lithe body against his every morning when he wakes up.

She runs her right hand on his chest, fingering the decorations pinned above his heart.

“Are you ready?”, she asks while meeting his eyes.

“Not really, but I don’t have a choice.”, he sighs.

“I’ll be here if you need anything.”

“I do need something. Do you think we can change the rules of our deal?”

“What do you want to add?”, she asks, surprised.

“I don’t want to add anything. I want to erase all the rules. I want to get attached because guess what, I’m already attached. I want to sleep next to you every night. I don’t want to have sex with anyone else but you, which is exactly what I have been doing for the past three months. »

« But I saw you with all these women you brought to the guesthouse late at night. I thought… »

She doesn’t finish her sentence but she doesn’t have to, he already knows what she thought and a while ago that’s exactly what he wanted. Now he needs her to know he only has eyes for her.

« For drinks, but I didn’t sleep with them. I couldn’t, not when the taste of you always lingered on my tongue. I didn’t want to erase it with another woman’s taste. »

She smiles before fusing their mouths together again.

« Then we need to make sure you get recurrent reminders. », she whispers seductively before diving for his lips again.

« Great idea. », he mumbles against her.

He breaks away to slip a few curls behind her ear, becoming serious again.

« I want to be with you, Juliet. In every way. »

She sighs and for a few seconds, Magnum is scared of being rejected but she dispels his worries quite quickly.

« When I offered you the deal, it was purely physical. I didn’t want nor have the time to take a dip in the dating pool of this island. You being nearby at all times was quite convenient and your agreeable physic didn’t hurt either. When you proved yourself to be a truly skilled lover, I thought this ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement couldn’t get any better. »

Okay, maybe he is still worried about where this is going.

« It was the case for the first month or so but then, and I didn’t realize it at the time, our time together kept growing into something more personal and intimate and less about the sex itself. I was fooling myself because I wanted to keep you at arm’s length and pretending you were only good enough to tend to my physical needs was my best defense. What I was oblivious about was that you were already worming your way into my closed up heart. But my brain wasn’t ready to hear what my heart was saying. »

She cleared her throat and dropped her gaze.

« I guess Nuzo’s death made me open my eyes about us not knowing what tomorrow could bring. Also, seeing you in distress was one of the most difficult thing I had to face in a long time and I started to understand that my feelings for you ran deeper than I thought. What sealed the deal had been thinking you were going to die in that stupid Ferrari without knowing how I felt about you. »

Her voice is starting to shake at the end of her monologue and Magnum is speechless. He knows she cares more for him than she let on, but he is far from the truth. He takes her back into his arms and sways them gently.

« Hey, it’s okay. We’re both fine and now we can stop being such fools in denial. We care for each other and that’s all that matters. », he whispers in her ear.

She basks in his embrace for a few minutes and Magnum could really get used to this softer version of Juliet. He’s glad they finally faced their feelings. When she breaks away from his arms she catches his eyes with hers.

« I also want to be with you in every way, Thomas, even though that’s pretty much what we’ve had for the last couple of days. »

« We can finally tell everyone we’re together. », he raves.

She sighs dramatically.

« Rick is going to be so disappointed, he won’t be able to flirt with me anymore. »

Thomas groans, he’s not going to miss his friend’s player act towards Juliet.

« Okay, we can tell your friends, but I’m going to need something in return. », she states.

« And what is that? »

« When I’m better, we’re definitely having sex with you in that uniform. », she leers as her eyes travel up and down his body.

He chuckles. The uniform always works like a charm. He throws his cap on her head and pulls her against him again.

« Deal! »

She laughs as she adjusts the hat before she pecks his lips. Magnum smiles, he knows today is going to be hard, burying his best friend, but as long as he has her by his side he knows he can cope.

Because even during the worst days there’s always the possibility for joy.

She places his cap on his head, her eyes bright, before she dangles the keys of the black Ferrari in front of his face.

“Come on, I’m driving.”

He scoffs.

“With what hands? You need two arms to drive a stick.”

“Need I remind you, you wrecked two Ferraris in as many days. One arm is still safer.”, she quips as she turns around and leaves him behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear what you thought.
> 
> Next Sunday I will post the first chapter of my new multi-chaptered fic: Juliet's Nest.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think.


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